Elizabeth Carter, c. 1920

Elizabeth Sarah Ellen Carter (née Hill, 1845-1927) was one of the eight children born to Sydney cabinetmaker and undertaker John Hill jnr and his wife Elizabeth - the step-daughter of ex-convict boatman, John Cadman. Elizabeth grew up in the family home on William Street. She was eighteen when she married Robert Thomas Carter (1843-1917), also a cabinetmaker and a partner in her father's business. Robert Carter went on to become a leading cabinetmaker, furniture warehouseman and antique dealer, maintaining a number of businesses in the city from the mid 1860s until his retirement in 1891. A number of pieces of Carter's manufacture were exhibited at the Sydney Intercolonial Exhibition of 1870. Elizabeth and Robert Carter had seven children and lived for most of their married life at their home, 'Claines', in the harbourside suburb of Darling Point. As the mistress of such a house and the wife of a successful businessman, Elizabeth was typical of the sitters photographed by Harold Cazneaux who, by the 1920s, was the photographer of choice for Sydney society and socialites. Elizabeth lived at Claines until her death, aged 83, in 1927.

Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of the family of FW Macpherson 2010